Photo Agencies Scour the Web
For Copyright Violations

By

Vauhini Vara The Wall Street Journal Online

Updated Oct. 14, 2005 12:01 a.m. ET

Bloggers, beware: That photo of Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes on your Web site could be fodder for a lawsuit. Stock photography companies like Getty Images Inc. and Corbis Corp. are using high-tech tools to crack down on Web site owners who try to use their photographs without paying for them.

While music and movie studios remain suspicious of the Internet, many stock photography companies have digitized their collections so that customers can easily access them online. At sites like GettyImages.com and Corbis.com,...